“I’m really happy,” said Goffin. “I’ve played the best tennis here in the past few years... It’s a great moment for me.”

A quick break saw Goffin surge to a 4-1 lead with a backhand winner down the line in the first set.

Gasquet grabbed a 2-0 lead in the second set before Goffin claimed five of the next six games.

He won the set and the match when a Gasquet backhand was long.

Goffin had received a walkover into the semi-finals after Yoshihito Nishioka was forced to withdraw due to food poisoning.

“It was almost a day off, so I was fresh and physically 100% today to play against Richard,” the Belgian said.

Barty stunned by Kuznetsova

In the women’s side, Ash Barty stunningly lost her chance to regain the number one world ranking when the Australian was beaten in straight sets by Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova in the semi-finals the same day.

Top seed Barty, who would have replaced the injured Naomi Osaka as the world number one with a victory, struggled with the rhythm off her serve as she lost 6-2 6-4, losing eight consecutive games to the Russian at one point.

Kuznetsova, ranked world number 153, will play American Madison Keys for the title on Sunday.